It seems that developing the general ability to visualise spatially helps children to visualise numbers spatially, as on a number line. It is however, not totally obvious why mentally rotating shapes should help children's number understanding. The key early experiences likely to develop such abilities would seem to be obvious - jigsaw puzzles and construction - and this is what research has found. Such as sides, edge and corner, (Pruden et al, 2011) help children to identify the key features of shapes, enabling them to focus on mentally rotating the shapes. The research suggests that vocabulary about shape properties, It is interesting to note that the usual shape names, such as 'circle' and 'square', are not very useful: you may find yourself talking about 'bulginess of bobbles' or 'slopey sides' and using gestures to help. Position and amount of circle shown, or to compare angles and lengths of sides, then mentally rotate and fit shapes together. To solve these, you need to analyse the shapes, for instance in terms of the These activities typically involve selecting a shape which combines with another to form a square, or predicting which shape will be made when shapes are combined. Studies using tests like the one above have found that five year olds' success with these predicts their later maths achievement (Gunderson et al, 2012). It may also help some groups (for instance, poorer children and girls) who may be disadvantaged with regard to outdoor and spatial play resources. (Verdine et al,2017: 93,102)Ī focus on shape and space may provide a more accessible route to mathematics for some children, rather than focusing mainly on numbers. Improving spatial experiences prior to school entry is likely to increase children's readiness for school”¦.Optimizing spatial performance may be an underutilized route to improving mathematics achievement. Including their number understanding and general thinking skills. A number of studies have also shown that these abilities are not innate, but teaching young children spatial skills actually improves their maths, Much research has shown that young children's spatial rather than numerical abilities predict their overall mathematics achievement: the key skills are visualising what shapes will look like when they are combined or rotated (Young et al., 2018). At the same time, 'Shape, space and measures' seems to have had less attention, perhaps as a result of a focus on number sense,Ĭulminating in proposals to remove this area from the assessed early years curriculum in England. In recent years there has been an increasing amount of research demonstrating that children's early spatial thinking predicts their mathematical achievement and understanding. We used to focus a lot on blockplay in the early years, with some impressive results.
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